The Eagle of  Corona Plaza

By Seth Aylmer

This project began in the spring of 2012 with the Queens College class Corona Studio: Transforming Corona Plaza. This class familiarized students with the demographics of Corona and the communities and groups which compose it, in addition to providing the opportunity to get out on the street and spend time in the plaza.

During an impromptu day of polling with the other students, I asked passersby to identify their favorite animal. When 30% of the respondents mentioned Eagle, I figured this was a subject matter that would have resonance with the general audience of Corona.

Next there was the exploration of how to involve this audience with the creation of the physical sculpture. This exploration manifested during the Corona Cares for the Rockaways event. During this gathering I placed four tableaus on tables in the plaza to collect animal drawings from the visitors. Children, their parents, and many other figures from the neighborhood contributed to this collection of d rawings.

In order to create a form that was based on these drawings I copied each of them onto a canvas and then created the eagle out of the same visual vocabulary.   It was only after I had internalized the forms of the animals drawn by the community that I was able to produce an eagle that is truly from the people of this place.

The final creative step in this process will be to create the pyramid shaped pedestal for the eagle. This will be cast out of concrete, painted, and then covered with animal drawings from the people of Corona. After the pedestal is cast, it will be exhibited in the Queens Museum where visitors will be able to contribute drawings to be incorporated into the pedestal design.
I have proposed that the finished piece be temporarily installed in Corona Plaza in the Spring of 2014.